Additive Manufacturing (AM) can be used to create complex parts quickly and efficiently. In the field of AM, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a type of Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) process that can be used to fuse metal powder particles together, layer by layer, to build fully-dense metal parts. An SLM system is typically comprised of a build piston, a feed cylinder, a wiper/recoating mechanism, and a high powered laser scanner.
Similarly, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a method of AM wherein layers of powder are selectively sintered and parts are produced by applying powder to sintered layers. This has the disadvantage that it cannot be used to make metal components that withstand high temperatures and high stress.
In both SLM and SLS systems, a recoating mechanism is typically used to coat the build plate of the system with the powder to be fused. There are generally two methods of coating the build plate with the powder: using a recoater to push powder from a feed cylinder over to a build cylinder, or using a recoater that is fed powder though a hopper.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,636 describes a recoater mechanism using an elongated blade with an axis of rotation such that it can roll over the powder when recoating.
Existing recoater mechanisms are rigidly mounted and move along a single axis. If they interfere with a distorted part, then either the part or the recoater blade can be damaged. This results in the build process failing and the recoater blade having to be replaced. Additionally, recoater mechanisms that are fixed in the vertical direction do not allow for any adjustment on the user end.
Many existing recoater devices do not have a simple way of replacing the recoater blade. In many devices the recoater blade has to be slid out of a slot, this is difficult and time consuming as a rubber blade will have a high coefficient of friction.